Celtic scored three times for the first time in about a year, with Stafford snuffed out in a dominating performance by Chris Willcock's side with a goal from Nathan Caine and a brace from Raul Correia giving Celtic three vital points.

The opening running all came from Celtic, with Raheem Hanley’s free kick and Domaine Rouse heading over. Some excellent linking saw Correia slide the ball through for Chris Dagnall. Dagnall, at the edge of the six-yard box, kept his cool and threaded the ball through for Nathan Caine, arriving to tap home and put Celtic in front. From there, Celtic had total control, but former loan-Celt Ntumba Massanka got onto a set piece forcing a fine reaction save from Greg Hall. Stafford looked to be gaining a foothold, but Caine had other ideas against his former club. A perfectly weighted through ball into the path of Raul Correia left the Celtic striker one on one with Cam Belford and he made no mistake, placing the shot perfectly past Belford.

Caine nearly made it three right at half, with Belford’s scrambled enough to keep the gap at two.

The second period began with chances at both ends, Matty Carson’s cheeky free kick nearly caught Belford out, while Alex-Ray Harvey at the other end saw Hall keep another clean sheet with a superb stop. Stafford looked to be running out of ideas as the second half wore on, whilst Celtic buzzed. Harry Benns top corner screamer saw Derek Ubah get enough of a touch to put the ball over the bar, whilst Ozzie Abadaki’s power run into the box ended with a power shot and Belford plucking the ball from the air.

With minutes on the clock, Correia outpaced Luis Morrison-Derbyshire to find a shooting position, only for Morrison-Derbyshire to get his challenge all wrong and concede a penalty. Correia converted. Game set and match and a deserved three points. Celtic were the better team and got the result their performance deserved.